


The itinerary

by julla



Category: GTOP (Band)
Genre: GTOP, M/M, gtopau
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-15 16:52:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14794341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julla/pseuds/julla
Summary: Seunghyun and Jiyong meet on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. Seunghyun is there with his mates, on a trip of a lifetime, and young Jiyong is on the ship with his parents, being one of the captain's vip guests. At first it seems like the two shouldn't even be on the same cruise ship but soon enough a small romance blooms between them which makes the trip unforgettable.





	1. 1/?

Seunghyun couldn’t stop staring out of the window excitedly like a puppy going to a new home. They were in Valletta, Malta, and were currently having the uber take him and his friends to the harbour. The wind was blowing nicely on his face from the half-open window and the sun was shining right into his eyes but it was lovely, not a cloud in the whole sky. They were getting closer and he could smell the sea already, getting him even more excited.

“Oh! I can see the ship!” Jason exclaimed from the front seat, pointing towards the harbour.

And indeed there it was. The magnificent. The majestic. Royal Princess. The cruise ship they were adopting as their home for the next week.

“Woaa.. That’s really something, huh? I think I have never seen a ship this big,” Cam said, leaning into Seunghyun to have a better look from the window.

“Definitely. Guys. It’s the /Royal/ Princess. What did you expect?” Hyuk laughed, but was secretly impressed too, and no less excited than his mates.

The uber stopped soon in front of the harbour’s main entrance and the boys got out of the car. They got their luggage out of the trunk and after saying their thanks to the driver, it took off and they got inside of the harbour. Jason, who was more or less the travel guide and the organizer of the whole trip, went to sort out their tickets. Seunghyun, Cam and Hyuk went to the bench near by to sit down.

“Ohh my god I can’t wait to get to our cabin on the ship. I’m so excited!” Cam said, holding his backpack close to his chest. 

“Same,” Seunghyun smiled. “I have never been on a ship like that. Have you?”

“I went on a cruise from Estonia to Sweden once with my parents. But I was 14 and had no fun basically. /This/ is a whole new level, trust me,” Cam said.

Jason got back then and smiled brightly at his friends, holding all of their tickets.

“All set, guys. We’re ready to roll!”

He handed a ticket to each of them, including a key card to their room.

“Don’t lose that, alright? Fifty euros if you do. And.. also this.”

He handed each another card.

“Oh my god you’re an angel. I’m also going die,” Hyuk said.

“Free drinks? Are you sure, Jason?” Seunghyun asked. “You’ve already done so much.”

“Ahh.. Don’t worry about it,” the other smiled. “It’s my parents who’re paying for this anyways,” he cackled. “Come on. Let’s get going. They’re letting us on soon,” he said and all of them grabbed their stuff and went over to the gates.

 

“Oh wow! Wow!” Cam entered the cabin first and dropped his backpack on one of the beds. “We have a window! Wow! I can see the water from here!”

Jason chuckled and put his suitcase on one of the beds as well.

“Yes we do have a window, relax.”

“When can we have food?” Hyuk asked, testing out his bed.

“Gosh, chill my dudes. The ship hasn’t even started moving yet,” Jason said and lied down as well.

“Well I’m going for a cigarette. Don’t have food without me,” Seunghyun said and went back out.

He got to the corridor and looked both sides, he wasn’t too sure where to go but reckoned either way he should end up at one of the decks where he could smoke. Checking one more time what their room number was so he wouldn’t forget, he chose the left side and started walking down the long corridor. Soon enough, he got to the lobby and taking a quick look at the ship map on the wall, he found the nearest smoking area. He went outside and a nice summery breeze welcomed him. The weather was indeed perfect. He sighed, content, and lit a cigarette. A few seagulls were flying around and making funny noises, the port on the ship’s side was quite busy as well, men probably doing last minute check ups on the beast of a ship. Seunghyun leaned on the edge of the railing as he smoked and silently watched the small people work down on the land when a couple of cars drove right to the side of the ship. The doors opened and a man who looked like he could be the captain of the ship got out first.

“Captain!” one of the men working there shouted and ran over.

Ah, so definitely the captain. More people came out of the car then as the captain talked to the man, a man, a woman, and someone who had bright orange hair. After a few minutes, the captain and the people with him took the little makeshift bridge right to the side of the ship to what Seunghyun assumed was the special door to the captain and the crew, and apparently also the vip guests.

 

“Took you long enough!” Hyuk scoffed when Seunghyun got back.

“Relax, we’re going to have food as soon as the ship takes off, yeah?” Jason rolled his eyes.

“I’m just hungry!” Hyuk whined, “Our last proper meal was literally when we were still in the UK.”

“Well I told you to eat two wraps at the airport,” the other shrugged.

Cam bounced excitedly on his bed, “I wonder what’s for dinner.”

“Whatever your heart desires, sweetheart,” Jason grinned. “I for one can’t wait to get to the bar.”

Seunghyun grinned at that as well. This week was going to be amazing. They could hear the loud horn of the ship then and Cam scrambled up from the bed and hurried to the window.

“We’re moving!” he shouted and everybody cheered.

“Next stop, Corfu baby!”


	2. 2/?

“Thank you so much, Charles, for everything,” Jiyong’s mother smiled at the captain. “The ship truly is marvellous, just as expected.”

Jiyong rolled his eyes and looked down at his food again. His mother could apparently infuriate him in any situation. Jiyong knew very well his mother would rather be anywhere else than on this cruise ship. And this fake behaviour was honestly embarrassing him.

“Oh it’s my pleasure, Lilian,” the captain smiled back. “I’ve been the captain of this ship for almost ten years already and haven’t had my dear friend come on the cruise with me once. I’m only glad he could take his family along.”

“Younghwan is a very busy man,” Jiyong’s mother said.

“So I hear! I’m only glad to hear you’re doing well.”

Jiyong’s father laughed heartily.

“And I’m glad to be here,” he said. “A bit of time off will be good for us all. Don’t you think, Jiyong?”

Jiyong looked up and nodded. His mother nudged his leg under the table at that.

“Yes,” he said, getting the obvious hint.

His father and the captain fell into conversation then, talking about what kind of business Younghwan had in the UK that led them to the opportunity to take the Mediterranean cruise.

“Behave,” his mother hissed into his ear then and Jiyong closed his eyes to swallow down the boiling frustration.

He tried to stay calm but doing so proved to become more and more difficult each day. His mother had always been like this, but Jiyong was about to reach his breaking point. At first, he had been happy to hear they’re going on a cruise. Whenever they travelled with the whole family, which was pretty often, all they did was go around dealing with Kwon Younghwan business. A cruise for Jiyong sounded like freedom. What kind of business could they be doing on a fricking cruise ship, right? But Jiyong realized this family was simply destined not to have any sort of fun. He needed to accept that. He took another bite from the Greek style pork belly which was on his plate, different, yet still tasty, and for the nth time that evening, he looked up from his plate to the table across the room by the windows which for some reason had caught his attention since they had sat down over half an hour ago. Four guys were sitting there having their dinner, but also seemed to be having so much fun. Their laughter sometimes echoed all across the floor. He was sure he had caught his mother sending them deadly glances several times already. But his heart longed this so much. He looked at the wooden barrier between the vip area for the first class passengers and back to the boys at the fun-table. He then realized one of the guys at said table was quite openly staring right back at him and he quickly looked back at his plate, embarrassed that he had got caught staring. His heart was beating in his chest like crazy.

 

“Hey. What’s up with you?” Cam kicked Seunghyun under the table.

Seunghyun looked back at him.

“Huh?”

“You’ve been zoning out, man.”

“Ah,” he cleared his throat and took a quick bite from his garlic bread he’d been holding. “That’s the captain of the ship right there,” he nodded towards the table at the vip section.

Cam and Hyuk, who sat across from Seunghyun and Jason, turned around to gawk at the captain’s table.

“How’d you know?” Jason asked.

“Ooooh, pretty sure the lady there is sending death stares at us. You think we’re too loud?” Cam asked.

“Who the fuck cares?” Hyuk said with his mouth full.

Seunghyun looked at Jason then.

“I saw him board the ship when we were still in Valletta,” he explained.

He looked back at the vip table then, silently chewing his mouthful. Secretly, he wasn’t admiring the captain, but the gorgeous redhead at the captain’s table had caught his attention as soon as the group entered the room. Seunghyun was pretty sure he had caught the other looking towards their table a couple of times, but now the boy was just eating, eyes cast down on his plate. But boy was he beautiful. Even his chewing mouth was pretty. Something about him made Seunghyun’s heart thump just a little faster than normal.

 

“Uggghhh..” Seunghyun groaned as he laid down on the bed, still fully dressed, having just gotten back to their cabin room.

“Yup. Three drinks was a wise choice for the first night,” Jason said, lying down in the bed next to him, “It’s almost midnight and we’ll be arriving to Corfu in the morning. We need the energy.”

All the guys hummed in agreement. Quietly, each of them started getting ready for bed, taking turns to use the bathroom and soon enough all of them were nicely tucked into bed. Hyuk was already asleep but the much excited Cameron was still wide awake in his bed, sighing happily.

“Jason?”

“Hmm?

“Thanks for being rich, man..”

Jason just chuckled quietly.

“Good night, Cammy.”

Seunghyun smiled as well but snuggled closer to his soft pillow and closed his eyes then. A certain beauty with bright orange hair was still stamped on the insides of his eyelids and he fell asleep with butterflies fluttering in his tummy.

 

Seunghyun was an early bird and he was up well before seven in the morning. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He looked towards the small window they had then and sat up to go look outside. The light outside was a mixture of pink and orange which meant there was a beautiful sunrise. He didn’t bother changing his clothes but quickly brushed his teeth and grabbed his phone and cigarettes and hurried outside. Seunghyun ended up sitting down on a bench on a deck just in the front of the ship. It was pretty empty of people since it was still early and Seunghyun liked it just like that. He sat down on the bench sideways and lit a cigarette. The ship was heading almost directly towards the sunrise and the view was absolutely gorgeous. Seunghyun was a sucker for a nice view. He took a picture of it to save this to his (phone) memory. He lied down on the bench, smoking a cigarette after a cigarette and he didn’t even notice the time go by and the decks being filled with more and more people when his phone chimed in his pocket at last with a text from Jason asking where he was. Soon enough he was greeted with a pat on his shoulder and his friend plopped down on the bench beside him.

“Hey, man. How long have you been here?” he asked and let out a big yawn.

Seunghyun shrugged.

“Since seven-ish.”

“Really? It’s after nine already. We should go have breakfast. We’ll arrive to the island soon,” Jason said, still pretty sleepy.

Seunghyun nodded and turning his head towards him he opened his mouth to say something when something caught his eye behind his friend. Bright orange hair. The people from the dinner table from last night were all right there up on the captain’s deck, talking about something. The boy was standing a bit further from the group and was leaning on the railing, looking over the sea with a calm expression.

“Yeah umm.. Let me just have another cigarette,” Seunghyun said, a bit distracted, but already put a new cigarette between his teeth.

Jason noticed the look on his friend’s face and he turned around to look towards whatever Seunghyun might’ve seen. He turned back around.

“What? Crushing on the captain again?” he asked.

“Something like that,” Seunghyun said, eyes still on the boy on the upper deck, before taking another drag from his cigarette.

Jason looked back up and after a few seconds he realized what Seunghyun had actually been staring.

“Oh…” he whispered.

At that very moment, the boy looked directly down at their direction, but realizing the guys were looking at his direction as well he quickly looked back over the sea. A few seconds later, still sensing the eyes on himself, he looked back down slowly, though. The butterflies from last night definitely returned to Seunghyun’s tummy at that. Jason slapped the back of his hand against Seunghyun’s chest and grinned at him.

“Hey I think your guy is looking back at you.”

“Shut up,” Seunghyun said but his eyes never left the boy and his lips were stretched into the widest grin.

 

Jiyong felt his cheeks turn red. Were these guys staring at him? He was pretty sure they were the boys from last night. He looked down at his hands gripping the cold metal railing, feeling shy.

“Jiyong. Come. We’re going to see the lifeboats,” his mother’s voice said then.

“Coming, mother,” Jiyong said and turned away from the view to the sea with a last glance at the guys on the lower deck.

 

“To Jason!”

Seunghyun, Cam, Jason and Hyuk were back at the bar as soon as the ship left the Corfu island that evening. Everyone was already a few drinks in.

“C’mon guys my birthday is not after another month,” he chuckled.

“Still, that’s why we’re here, right?” Seunghyun had his arm around his friend’s shoulder. “So let’s celebrate!”

Jason laughed but they all clinked their glasses together and took a sip. After putting his drink down, despite himself, Seunghyun again scanned the whole dance room and bar area for a certain mop of hair. Of course it wasn’t the first time today that Jason had noticed Seunghyun’s searching eyes.

“Haven’t seen him?” he asked, leaning closer to him to speak over the blaring music.

Seunghyun shook his head.

“Seen who?” Cam asked.

“No o-“

“Seunghyun saw a guy he wants to bang.”

“Jason!”

“Ooh really?”

“What? It’s true!” Jason shrugged.

Seunghyun sighed.

“I don’t want to just bang him, you dickhead. I just thought he looked.. really pretty,” he explained to his friends.

“He looked pretty so you want to bang him,” Hyuk said, lazily leaning on the table.

“No! Argh, whatever,” Seunghyun said, annoyed.

He drank the last of his drink and put the empty glass back on the table.

“I’ll go for a cigarette,” he said, not looking at them and just walked away.

There was a smoking room near the bar but frankly Seunghyun needed some air so he left the club and walked out to the lobby in search of the nearest area he could smoke at. He didn’t need to look around long though and he stepped out on the deck. It was a bit windy and noisy outside but still nice and fresh. Seunghyun just was about to light a cigarette when he saw him. The boy. Right there on the deck, looking out at the dark sea. Seunghyun would probably send out a celebratory cheer if his breath hadn’t got caught in his lungs. He lit the cigarette then, that being the exact thing he needed to relax now. He took a drag and took the remaining steps to the railing, being not too far from the beautiful boy with the orange hair. Seunghyun leaned against the railing as well but the boy didn’t seem to notice him. Soon, Seunghyun collected all his courage and let out a little cough.

“Hey,” he said, looking towards the boy.

The other snapped out of his thoughts then and looked towards Seunghyun as well.

“Oh.. Hello..” he said and Seunghyun noted that the boy seemed to recognize him.

“I.. I’ve been hoping to see you again tonight,” Seunghyun said, taking a step closer.

The boy stood up straighter then and gave him a questioning look.

“And why is that?” he asked.

“Well, I-.. umm.. I’ve seen you around and.. I think you have seen me too and-..”

“Yes, and?”

“Well I think you are beautiful,” Seunghyun said, looking into his eyes.

“Excuse me?” the boy asked, eyes big.

His heart was pounding from the stranger’s boldness. But he was intrigued and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the man. Seunghyun took another step closer. The breeze was playing with the boy’s soft-looking orange hair, blowing it around and into his face. Seunghyun raised his hand up to his face and tucked away a strand of hair from the boy’s eyes, fingers lightly brushing his cheek.

“I said.. I think you’re beautiful..”

The boy’s big eyes were still on his for a second or two but then he jumped back as in realization what had just happened.

“What!? How dare you!” he shouted at him.

People around them gave them glances and Seunghyun took a quick step back.

“I’m sorry, I-..”

“Stay away from me!” the boy said and hurried away, disappearing through the door.

Seunghyun looked towards the door helplessly but didn’t dare to follow him. He clearly had fucked this up big time. He let out a huge sigh and tossed his burnt out cigarette into the trash.

“Fuck..” he cursed under his breath.

 

Jiyong hurried back down to his rooms quickly but when he had ran down three flights of stairs already he stopped and looked up the staircase to see if the man had followed him. He didn’t see anyone. He let out a sigh then and his own reflection caught his eye in the big mirror across the lobby. He gently touched his palm to his cheek where the man had touched him not a minute ago and smiled a little.


	3. 3/?

The suite was quiet, only the constant hum of the ship sounding through all the walls. Jiyong noticed the light on in the office room and hoped his dad was still up. He moved silently, not to make much noise and went to knock on the door.

“Come in,” sounded from inside and Jiyong cautiously opened the door.

“Hey dad,” Jiyong said and stepped inside the room.

“Jiyong. Not sleeping yet?”

The boy shook his head and stepped closer.

“I needed some air. I was up on the deck. Is.. mom asleep?”

His father nodded and looked at him expectantly so Jiyong cleared his throat a bit and spoke his mind.

“Dad, I wanted to ask you something. Tomorrow, when we arrive to Croatia, I was thinking.. If it was possible for me to go explore the city on my own?”

Younghwan opened his mouth already to say something so Jiyong continued quickly.

“I just want some alone time. I promise I can do this. I’m not a child anymore. Please. Please just this once. I’m sure you and mom want some time together as well. Hmm? Please, dad,” Jiyong begged, eyes glistening and sincere.

His dad looked at him with sad eyes. He understood his son and he also knew how his wife could be and that this was exactly the reason Jiyong was asking for a break. He nodded.

“Well ask Lilian tomorrow,” he said.

Jiyong felt hopeless. He knew he could never have his mother’s approval for this. He sighed deeply, shoulders slumping.

“Go to bed now, son. It’s late,” his father gave him a small smile.

Jiyong nodded and turned around to leave.

“Good night, dad,” he said quietly.

“Jiyong,” his dad said then and the boy turned around to look at him again.

“Your mother and I love you very much,” the man said.

Jiyong just nodded silently.

“Okay. Go on now. Good night,” the man smiled again.

“Good night,” said Jiyong and walked out of the office.

He went straight to his room, brushed his teeth, changed his clothes, and lied down in his comfy bed. It was completely silent again if he ignored the hum of the moving ship. He closed his eyes and sighed, relaxing into the sheets more. He touched his cheek again and thought about the guy who had touched him there. He’d said he thought Jiyong was beautiful. Jiyong opened his eyes at that thought. He remembered now how he had reacted. And sure, he was shocked by the guy’s actions, but he admitted to himself now that he had clearly overreacted. The stranger and he had shared glances before then so it wasn’t like the encounter between the two of them was totally random. Jiyong’s stomach turned a bit from the guilt. He fell asleep his palm still caressing his cheek.

 

When Jiyong woke up the next morning, it was very early for him. It was most likely the time difference messing with his sleeping schedule. He lied in his bed for a little while, slowly waking up, vision and mind clearing. Suddenly he remembered what had occurred yesterday and he knew where he should be right now. Quickly getting up from his bed, Jiyong brushed his teeth hurriedly and changed out of his pyjamas. When he was ready, he cautiously peeked out of his room into the suite. It seemed to be empty still, giving how early in the morning it still was. He took his key card with him and quietly got out of the suite. Once in the corridor, he hurried down to the lobby and started climbing the stairs up to the deck. Jiyong really hoped his gut feeling wasn’t letting him down.

 

Seunghyun took another drag from his cigarette and exhaled the smoke slowly. His hangover wasn’t too bad this morning but for some reason he still felt utterly shit. Last night didn’t turn out too great. He kept thinking about the boy and cursing at himself for being a creep. Obviously he had been more intoxicated than he thought for him to be pulling shit like that. He took another drag from his cigarette and exhaled deeply, smoke disappearing quickly in the light morning breeze.

“Can I have one?” a familiar voice asked from his right then and Seunghyun’s head snapped up.

There he was, the boy, standing right there at the end of the bench. Seunghyun apparently had swallowed his tongue right now because he just opened the pack of his cigarettes and offered the boy one. The boy came closer and his long fingers reached for a cigarette before sitting down next to Seunghyun. The boy’s bright eyes were playfully looking at him as he put the cigarette between his pink lips. Seunghyun silently brought his lighter up and lit the cigarette for him. The boy took a drag and after blowing the smoke into the wind he looked back at Seunghyun.

“I was hoping you’d be here enjoying the sunrise again,” he spoke.

Seunghyun looked at him, surprised.

“I thought you wanted me to stay away from you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The look on the boy’s face changed at that.

“About that.. I came to find you to apologize for that. I didn’t mean to-“

“Oh no don’t apologize,” Seunghyun quickly cut him off, “I clearly stepped over the line and I didn’t mean to scare you or step into your space like that. I was really drunk and I didn’t mean to do that. I mean, of course I still think you’re beautiful but I didn’t mean to attack you like that or-“

He was cut off by light chuckling. He looked at the boy again who was covering his smile with the back of his hand. His eyes were bright and happy right now and so so beautiful. That made Seunghyun smile as well and he brought his cigarette up to his lips to suppress it a little.

“So,” the boy spoke again. “I think we both would rather forget yesterday? I really feel like shit because of it.”

“Yeah.. Me too,” Seunghyun nodded.

“I’m Jiyong,” the boy reached out his hand.

“Seunghyun,” Seunghyun introduced himself as well, shaking his hand.

“Oh?” Jiyong said, surprised, “You’re Korean as well?”

Jiyong had promptly moved to speaking Korean language and Seunghyun was a bit taken aback.

“Yes. I- Uhm- I am. But.. my Korean is not very good,” he said in awkward Korean.

“Oh,” Jiyong let out a little giggle, “Where are you from then?”

“London.”

“Ooh. I’ve been to London many times,” Jiyong said, “I travel a lot with my parents.”

“That’s cool! Lucky you,” Seunghyun said with a smile.

Jiyong’s smile fell a bit instead though and he shrugged, taking another drag from his cigarette.

“It’s not as great as it might sound. It’s mostly my father’s business trips and me and my mother just tag along. It’s really nothing too exciting.”

“Oh.. So this is a business trip as well? As I understand you’re the captain’s guest” Seunghyun asked.

“Well I was hoping it wouldn’t be. But it turns out to be just the same old boring trip like every other. Last night I asked my father if I could explore the city on my own just to get away from all this just for a day but I don’t think my mother will allow it.”

“How old are you then? I mean.. Are you even allowed to have that?” Seunghyun asked, nodding his head towards the cigarette butt between Jiyong’s fingers.

Jiyong looked down as well and then tossed it to the trashcan next to the bench.

“Umm, yeah. I’m eighteen, don’t worry,” he said and smiled a little, “You?”

“I’m twenty two,” Seunghyun smiled back.

Jiyong nodded and they just fell silent then.

“Hey if you want to get away from your parents for the day you can join me and my mates? We’d be glad to include you in our mindless wandering around Sibenik,” Seunghyun offered.

“Really? Wow I’d love to!” Jiyong said excitedly.

“Sure!” the older smiled.

Jiyong looked around happily. He really hoped now that he’d have new friends to accompany him his parents would let him go. He was so happy. He looked back to Seunghyun and smiled brightly. Just that moment Seunghyun’s phone chimed and he fished it out of his pocket.

“My friends are going to have breakfast. I should go,” he said and stood up from the bench.

“Oh.. Okay..” Jiyong stood up as well.

“Do you perhaps want to come meet them?” Seunghyun offered.

“Yes! Definitely!” Jiyong smiled again.

“Okay come on then, I’m meeting them on the tenth floor lobby,” the older said and they walked away together.

Jiyong was over the moon. It really seemed like he just made a new friend. And was going to meet even more people. These were probably going to be all the guys from the fun-table he had longed to be at a couple of days ago. He couldn’t wait. As they walked, Jiyong secretly peeked a glance at Seunghyun. He was actually so nice! He felt even more terrible about last night but he couldn’t be happier now that they had made up. They got to the tenth floor lobby then and Seunghyun looked around to find his friends.

“Well well well, what do we have here,” someone said behind them and the pair turned around.

Jason, Cam and Hyuk were all there, faces still sleepy but Jason was wearing the most suggestive smirk on his lips.

“There you are,” Seunghyun said, seemingly unphased, “Guys. This is Jiyong.”

“Hi!” Jiyong grinned and waved cutely.

“Hey Jiyong. Well? How did you two finally met each other?” Jason asked, still smirking.

“Wait. This is the guy Seunghyun wants to b-“

His sentence was cut off by Hyuk smacking his gut.

“Nice to meet you, Jiyong,” Hyuk said, face stoic as ever.

“Ignore them,” Seunghyun said quietly to Jiyong.

The other looked up at him and smiled again, even though he felt like there was something all of them knew and he didn’t.

“No worries,” he said.

“Well, this is Jason. That’s Cameron, but we call him Cam. And that’s Hyuk. Even though he looks like this, I promise he’s actually a nice guy,” Seunghyun introduced his friends.

Jiyong couldn’t stop a big grin forming once again and he waved again. Seunghyun couldn’t help but think how freaking cute this guy was.

“Jiyong’s going to join us on the town trip today. Maybe? We’ll see..” Seunghyun said, looking at Jiyong.

The younger nodded.

“I hope so,” he looked at Seunghyun’s friends. “If it’s okay with you guys?”

“Of course!” Jason said and others nodded.

Jiyong smiled.

“Right. I better let you guys go get breakfast then. My parents are probably waiting for me as well.”

“Alright,” Seunghyun nodded as Jiyong turned to him, “I’ll see you later then? Where should we meet in case you are allowed to come?”

“How about seventh floor lobby? We should arrive around 11:30 so.. I’ll see you 11:45? I really hope I can come.”

They were talking quietly amongst themselves and standing really close, which made Jason smirk again and Cam and Hyuk exchanged glances. After Jiyong said bye and skipped down the stairs, Seunghyun’s friends immediately bombarded him with questions.

 

“I’m telling you, man. He’s not coming.”

“Just five more minutes,” Seunghyun said, looking around impatiently.

“Dude. It’s after twelve already. We have to go. If he were coming, he’d be here already,” Jason reasoned.

Seunghyun checked the time and sighed. His friends were probably right.

“Fine,” he said and they walked out of the gates.

“Damn, how strict are his parents? He said he’s eighteen? He should have more freedom,” Cam said as they walked.

“Don’t worry, man,” Jason put his arm around Seunghyun’s shoulders, “You’ll most likely see him again tonight.”


	4. 4/?

Seunghyun wasn’t feeling too well this morning. He was just silently packing his bag for the night they were going to spend in Venice. The whole evening the day before he had waited for Jiyong at their usual meeting spot, but in vain. He hadn’t spotted the boy at breakfast either.

“Come on, man. Wipe that look off your face,” Jason said to him then, “You can’t ruin your own trip just because some guy isn’t into you. Just forget about him. You already missed the whole evening of fun yesterday. Look around! I bet there’s loads of options out there. Even Cam found a girl!”

“Yeah, even me!” Cam grinned but realized then what Jason had implied, “Hey-..”

“What I’m saying is, it’s not worth it, Seunghyun. Okay? Just move on,” he said and patted him on the back.

Seunghyun gave his friend a tight lipped smile and nodded.

“Yeah. You’re probably right,” he said.

“Everyone got their bags?” Hyuk said then. “Don’t forget to take your tickets and key cards with you. And wallets. And sunscreen.”

“Yes, mom,” Jason chuckled.

They left their cabin room for the next twenty four hours then. They were scheduled to spend a night in Venice during this cruise. Standing at the seventh floor lobby, Seunghyun still couldn’t help but look around, subconsciously waiting to find Jiyong. The ship got to the port soon and the doors opened, people starting to push out in waves like a herd of sheep. Seunghyun, who was a bit lost in his own head this morning, got separated from his friends in the process of getting off the ship, falling back a bit. His friends were through the gates already and were waiting for him in the front of the main entrance of the building. Seunghyun was trying to get to them but there were so many people in the small corridors which slowed him down considerably. Eventually, he got through the gates as well and walked outside. He was on the stairs of the main entrance, searching for his friends with his eyes when he looked to the right and suddenly his heart skipped a beat. There stood Jiyong by some big luxury car with his parents and some other people. Seunghyun just stared at him, dumbfounded for a minute, friends forgotten. And then, just like by a miracle, Jiyong turned a bit and looked back at him. The boy’s eyes lit up when he saw the other. Seunghyun gave him a small wave, not sure if Jiyong wanted any contact with him anymore or not. At that very moment, someone called for him.

“Seunghyun! Over here!” Jason waved at him from where they were all standing by the taxis.

Seunghyun looked over and walked down the stairs. He looked at Jiyong again who was also still looking back. The people who were with the boy started getting into the car and Jiyong looked back at them, realizing he needed to go soon.

“Seunghyun! Come on!” Jason shouted again, seeing that Seunghyun still hadn’t moved, Cam and Hyuk already in the taxicab.

But Seunghyun’s gaze was still glued on Jiyong. As Jiyong’s mother was getting into the car, though, Jiyong took his chance and suddenly started running towards Seunghyun. Seunghyun was a bit taken aback.

“Hey. Run,” Jiyong said quietly and took his hand, pulling him into a run towards Jiyong’s mates.

Jason’s eyes turned big when he saw what was happening suddenly but in a few seconds the pair was already by the car and Jiyong was shoving Seunghyun into the back seat.

“Jiyong!” Someone shouted in the distance.

“Please let’s go,” Jiyong said to Jason, eyes begging.

So they quickly got into the cab, Jason jumping into the front passenger seat and Jiyong squeezed himself into the back so he was sitting on Seunghyun’s lap.

“Drive drive drive,” Jason egged the driver to take off.

“This is illegal, y’know,” the cabby said as he drove away.

“I know I know,” Jason said, “We’ll pay extra.”

Jiyong looked out through the back window and happily started laughing when he realized he had successfully escaped. His heart was beating so loud in his chest from all the adrenalin and he looked at Seunghyun with the biggest smile. The older was holding Jiyong close, hoping that the cramped back seat was a good enough disguise, and smiled back at the boy.

“Well. Let the adventure begin!” Cam said.

Soon enough they got out of the taxi in front of their hostel.

“We should check in and take our bags upstairs,” Jason said. “Jiyong. You should stay outside for now. I only booked four beds and well.. I don’t want them to start asking questions. No worries, though. We can sneak you in during the night I’m sure.”

Jiyong nodded obediently.

“I’ll stay out with him. I need a cigarette anyways,” Seunghyun offered and Jiyong smiled at him.

Hyuk took Seunghyun’s bag from him and the three of them went inside, leaving the two alone. It was really sunny and Jiyong’s hair was even brighter than usual.

“I don’t even have a bag or anything..” Jiyong said then.

“Don’t worry about it,” Seunghyun smiled, “I just hope you won’t get into too much trouble because of it?”

Jiyong waves his hand.

“Doesn’t matter. I just needed to get away. Y’know?”

Seunghyun nodded slowly.

“I’m.. sorry about yesterday, Seunghyun,” Jiyong said then, “I wasn’t allowed to come. I asked. But then my mother kept her eye on me even more.”

“That’s alright,” Seunghyun said, “I’m sorry your mom is like that.”

Jiyong just nodded and avoided his gaze a bit. He was so embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Seunghyun said then, smiling, “Lets forget about it just for the day, yeah? We’ll deal with your parents tomorrow when we get back to the ship.”

Jiyong looked back up at him and smiled. Seunghyun fished a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket then and offered one to Jiyong, but the younger shook his head and waved his hands cutely.

“Oh. No, thanks. I don’t actually smoke.”

Seunghyun raised an eyebrow as he put his own cigarette between his teeth and lit it.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you smoke one before,” he said.

“I just needed a good conversation start,” Jiyong grinned cheekily up at him.

Seunghyun chuckled lightly as he took a drag and leaned against the building. Jiyong took a few steps past him and leaned against the wall beside him. The boy closed his eyes and sighed, feeling content. They just stood there, side by side, Seunghyun smoking his cigarette. Until suddenly the door near them opened again not long after.

“C’mon, lovebirds!” Cam chirped happily, skipping after Jason and Hyuk who started walking down the street.

Jiyong and Seunghyun exchanged looks and Jiyong’s cheeks turned pink instantly. They silently followed their friends. Seunghyun smiled secretly around his cigarette before he tossed it in a bin. They caught up with Jason who was again wearing his tourist guide hat, proudly leading the group.

“So? Where’s the next stop?” Seunghyun asked.

Jason scoffed.

“What do you think? Saint Mark’s Basilica of course!”

 

The day had been long, but fun. They had seen most of the famous places in Venice, had lunch near Saint Mark’s Square, and walked around mindlessly around the city. Jiyong had stayed close to Seunghyun the whole day, but he also got along with the other guys very well. The group was still laughing at the pigeon who landed in Jiyong’s hair like it was it’s nest. Jiyong had asked to see the video on Seunghyun’s phone for at least ten times in the past hour. He couldn’t be happier. Currently, they were walking out of a restaurant they had had their dinner at.

“That was so yummy! I wish I could’ve eaten more but I’m already so full,” Cam said, rubbing his belly happily.

“Where to now?” Hyuk asked, mid yawn.

“Now guys, I know it’s been a long day, but now we need to take the gondola ride. Alright? It’s a must in Venice,” Jason said.

Everyone was kind of tired already but he was absolutely right. They found a place to start their tour along the canals in no time. The gondolas were narrow, so Jiyong and Seunghyun sat at the back, Hyuk in the middle, and Jason and Cameron in the front. The gondolier had negotiated the price with Jason and they had agreed on a twenty-minute cruise along the canals of Venice. It was already late and the sun had long set, which meant it wasn’t as warm outside as during the day. Jiyong was only wearing a t-shirt, plus he was pretty tired after a long day, so the coldness was easily creeping up on him. Seunghyun noticed the boy’s shaking knees after a while and without thinking about it too much, he put his arm around Jiyong’s shoulders and welcomed him under his warm jacket. Jiyong was a bit taken aback at first by the bold move and looked up slowly. Seunghyun seemed totally unphased though, looking up at the architecture. Jiyong smiled softly and snuggled closer to Seunghyun’s side. He smelled so good.

“Look. The Bridge of Sighs,” Seunghyun said quietly after a while.

Jiyong looked up as their gondola smoothly slid along the canal, right through under the famous bridge. He looked up at Seunghyun briefly and lowered his gaze then again. He was so happy in this moment he could die. Their semi-romantic gondola cruise was over in a bit though and they ported again. Jiyong was pretty sleepy, now already gotten used to Seunghyun’s comforting hold, so when they got back on the streets, the boy still kept close and took the older’s hand as they walked back to their hotel. Jason gave Seunghyun a pointed look but he just chose to ignore it. Not long after they got back and all five of them got up to the hotel room with no complications. Everyone was pretty tired so they all just quietly started getting ready for bed. Jiyong stood by the doorway awkwardly, not knowing what to do since he didn’t bring a bag or anything. Also there were only two bunkbeds, meaning four beds and the five of them so Jiyong was maybe feeling like he was intruding this party a little bit. When Seunghyun got back from the bathroom having brushed his teeth, he gave Jiyong a small smile and went over to one of the lower beds where his backpack was. He put his toothbrush back and picked the bag up then.

“Sleep here,” he said quietly to Jiyong, “I’ll take the floor.”

Jiyong took a small step closer.

“Are you sure?” he asked, embarrassed.

Seunghyun nodded and pulled Jiyong by his arm to sit down, giving him a reassuring smile. Soon all the guys were in beds, so Seunghyun laid down on the floor between the bunkbeds, backpack under his head. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. After a little while Cam was already snoring loudly in one of the top bunks. But Jiyong couldn’t get any sleep. He still felt guilty over Seunghyun having to sleep right there on the floor. The beds all had curtains draped in front to give the sleepers some privacy, so Jiyong slipped a bit of it up to peek at the older.

“Seunghyun,” he whispered super quietly.

Seunghyun turned his head up at him in silent question. It was quiet for a few moments until Jiyong spoke again.

“Come sleep with me.”

Seunghyun took a minute to process the thought but not long after he got up from the floor and as quietly as he could climbed into Jiyong’s bed. They adjusted the curtain after they had both lied down. It was a bit awkward at first, it was cramped and Seunghyun didn’t know how close he was supposed to get. But Jiyong answered that question by taking Seunghyun’s arm and putting it over himself. Seunghyun took it as a pretty apparent invitation to cuddle, so he snuggled closer, pulling Jiyong into his chest. It was totally pitch black there behind the curtain, so their sensed were heightened, although Jiyong honestly didn’t know if it was his or Seunghyun’s fast beating heart he was feeling. For the longest time they just lied there, impossibly close, hot breath caressing both of their faces. They couldn’t see anything, but they could feel how close they actually were. Without any warning, Seunghyun kissed the younger and Jiyong was more than happy to kiss him back, having waited for this to happen. He pulled the older closer as the kiss deepened. Their bodies were hot and seemingly filled with electricity. The butterflies could kill.

“Stop smooching, you two,” sounded from the other bed, making the pair giggle quietly, lips still attached.

They didn’t even think about stopping.


	5. 5/?

Seunghyun and Jiyong were standing in front of their hotel’s entrance, Seunghyun leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette, and Jiyong standing in between the older’s legs, keeping close. Jiyong was in an excellent mood this morning. He kept snuggling Seunghyun and smiling brightly up at him. It was an amazing feeling waking up next to each other like this. Jiyong knew they barely knew each other but in a weird way he felt like he’d known Seunghyun for years already and could trust him. He wished they could’ve stayed in that cramped little bunkbed forever. And eventually, after getting out of bed, they couldn’t stop playing footsie under the table. Their friends didn’t mind though. They thought the two were adorable and were happy for them instead of annoyed. Because the pair was truly nothing less but sweet. Jiyong was attached to Seunghyun’s side like a baby koala and Seunghyun kept giving Jiyong little kisses. Right now they were waiting for their friends to come down so they could start getting back to the cruise ship. One more stop, at Zadar, Croatia, before they got back to Malta and flew back to the UK.

 

The captain of Royal Princess had gotten a warning for a storm on the sea happening in the next twenty four hours. Storms weren’t that common around here for this time of year, but still they should’ve proceeded with caution. The weather was lovely though, sun shining and not a cloud in the sky, so captain Charles had decided it would be fine to leave Croatia as planned after stopping there for the day.

 

Jiyong, Seunghyun, Jason, Hyuk and Cam all had gotten back on the ship by now. Right on time too, because after mere minutes the ship continued it’s journey. They had taken a bit longer at the gates because Jiyong didn’t have his ticket but quicker than expected it was confirmed that he was one of the vip passengers and was let on the ship. What they didn’t know, though, was that the security had immediately also notified the ship’s authorities of the couple entering the ship.

“Will you be going back to your suite now?” Seunghyun asked, rubbing Jiyong’s arms, “Your parents must be worried.”

Seunghyun’s friends had all gotten down to their room already, leaving them alone to say goodbye for now.

“I don’t want to go,” Jiyong said quietly, playing with the hem of Seunghyun’s shirt.

Seunghyun chuckled a bit.

“I’ll see you later. Just go show your face so they know you’re okay. Yeah?”

Jiyong scrunched up his face a little but nodded then.

“Alright. What’s your room number? I’ll come find you later.”

“1048,” Seunghyun smiled and pecked him, “I’ll see you later.”

Just as Jiyong nodded and leaned up to kiss him again, some men approached them and basically surrounded them.

“Choi Seunghyun?”

Seunghyun looked around and nodded.

“Yes, that’s me.”

Right after that, Jiyong was pretty much ripped away from him and Seunghyun was being pushed against the wall. Jiyong let out a scared yelp as he was being held back by one of the men.

“You’re under arrest,” one of the men said to Seunghyun as they handcuffed him. “You have the right to remain silent.”

“W-what?”

“Anything you say can be used against you in the court of law.”

“What are you arresting me for!?” Seunghyun said, angry and scared.

The people on the deck were watching them from the distance.

“Kidnapping involving a minor,” was the answer he got.

“A m-…”

But Seunghyun couldn’t even finish the sentence, words dying on his lips, sudden realization dawning on him. He looked towards Jiyong who was crying hard by now, streaks of tears down his cheeks.

“Come on, son,” the men pulled on Seunghyun and he went with them, turning away.

“Seunghyun I’m so sorry!” Jiyong sobbed from behind him.

 

Jiyong entered the suite with a bang, one of the ship’s officers in tow.

“Jiyong!” his mother welcomed him with open arms but Jiyong didn’t even think of letting her touch him.

“Did you arrest him?” Jiyong’s father asked from the officer.

He nodded affirmative and got dismissed by Mr. Kwon.

“How could you do this?” Jiyong asked, still crying.

“Jiyong I’m so glad you’re okay,” his mother said.

“How could you let him get arrested!?” Jiyong asked, louder this time, looking between his parents.

“Then next time you know not to run away with strangers like that!” Lilian raised her voice as well, attitude changing.

“So you knew I was running away and he was not kidnapping me,” Jiyong squinted his eyes at her.

“We have to teach you one way or another,” the woman shrugged.

Jiyong wanted to explode. He was so angry but also felt so incredibly guilty. Seunghyun just got arrested because of him. He felt terrible. He had lied to him but now it had such serious consequences. His mother was just infuriating him even more right now so he knew there was no point in having this conversation.

“Don’t worry about that matter,” she said, “He’ll probably be let go when we get to Valletta or something.”

“You’re gonna ruin his trip just because of me?” Jiyong asked, tears rolling down his cheeks again.

“Or he’ll ruin ours!” she said back.

“Lilian…” her husband tried to calm her down. 

This situation just broke Jiyong’s heart. He walked past his mother without another word and went to his room. He fell onto his bed and cried into his pillow until he fell asleep. Jiyong felt so hopeless, and guilty. Every time he thought about what Seunhyun might feel right now, his heart sank.

 

Seunghyun was kept in handcuffs in a locked room and people kept coming to talk to him one by one. He was told the ship’s officials received a call about a kidnapping of a minor just after docking in Venice. Seunghyun told them that he didn’t mean to do anything illegal and he had been lied about the kid’s age. He found out that Kwon Jiyong was actually only sixteen. He felt utterly crushed and didn’t fight the officials over this matter because he understood the situation and knew he’d been in the wrong. There was nothing he could do. He just wished Jiyong hadn’t lied to him like this. One of the men there told him that he was going have to stay there until the end of the cruise, or until the victims legal guardians would drop the charges completely. When Seunghyun told them to ask Jiyong how things really were, they said Jiyong’s words wouldn’t change anything because he’s a minor and there’s only that much they could do since Jiyong’s parents had ordered Seunghyun to stay away from their son. 

 

Jiyong refused to come out of his room for the whole day and even the next morning. He started the morning with another cry. His heart couldn’t stop aching. At the same time he was so incredibly angry at his parents. Especially towards his mother because he knew she was behind this all. He just wished he hadn’t lied to Seunghyun. That thought made him cry even harder, wet patches on his pillow.

 

The ship eventually set sail towards back to Malta, after having docked in Croatia for another day. Jiyong still hadn’t moved from his bed and was completely ignoring his parents’ pleads for him to open the door for them.

Seunghyun at the same time was still locked inside a small room but his handcuffs had been removed the evening before so he could sleep. He was just lying down on the hard bed, facing the wall. The people working on the case there felt pity for him and believed his side of the story, but since important vip guests of the captain had ordered this, they could do nothing. They were just going to release him after docking in Valletta. Jason and the others had been there, pleading and begging for him to be released, but got the same answer every time. There was nothing they could do.

Before the ship left Croatia that morning, the weather had turned for the worse. It was still warm, but the blue sky was now cloudy and it was very windy. The ship still took off as scheduled, since it was the last part of the cruise, captain had confidence that they would get back to Malta safe and sound. The wind was rocking the ship pretty bad though, and soon it also started raining heavily. The decks were empty of people but the rain wasn’t the main problem. The wind and waves were making the passengers sick. One of them being Jiyong’s mother who despised ships as it is. She was lying in bed and throwing up constantly. Mr Kwon was pretty worried and a doctor came to check up on her as well. Jiyong had been in bed for the past twenty four hours, mostly sleeping, so he wasn’t feeling too bad, apart from emotional distress.

“Jiyong!” his father came banging on his door suddenly.

“Jiyong open up! We’re leaving!”

Jiyong, confused with the amount of time that had past, frowned and slowly got up from bed to open the door.

“Go where?” he asked after opening the door.

His father looked relieved to see him.

“Your mother isn’t feeling well. We’re not returning to Malta. An Italian coast guard is on it’s way to pick us all up,” he said.

“What?” Jiyong asked, completely confused with what was happening.

“There’s a pretty bad storm happening outside right now. It’s safest if we get to dry land,” his father explained.

“No. No, I don’t want to leave,” Jiyong shook his head. “What about Seunghy-“

“Please Jiyong,” his father cut him off. “Just go pack your bags.”

He turned and left then, leaving Jiyong by the door with his mouth agape. The boy went back to the room and sat on his bed for a while, thinking hard, hoping there would be a solution, a way out. He couldn’t leave like this. Not without apologizing, at least. He couldn’t leave without seeing Seunghyun once more. Determined, he stood up from the bed and bolted out of the room and out of the suite. A moment later he got out on the deck and indeed a big storm was happening, a blow of wind almost knocking him over. He needed to get to the other side of the ship though so he held onto whatever he could and slowly got to another door. He went inside, completely soaked with the rain, and ran into a member of crew who recognized him immediately, given that Jiyong had such bright hair.

“Sir, you really shouldn’t be out of your rooms right now,” he said.

“I don’t care,” Jiyong said, a bit out of breath.

He walked over to the man then, wiping off the rain from his face.

“Tell me, where do you keep the people that’ve been arrested on the ship?”

The man looked a bit confused but led Jiyong down the stairs to the right floor and told him which corridor to take. Jiyong hurried to find the right room and knocked on it once he found it. The door opened and the boy sighed in relief.

“I need to see Choi Seunghyun,” he said and was let in.

He needed to fill out some paperwork to be finally let to see Seunghyun. A door was opened for him and in the room was Seunghyun, sitting by the wall. He looked up and was visibly surprised to see Jiyong as sat up straight.

“You’ve got five minutes,” an officer said and closed the door again.

Jiyong took a step forward. He wanted to jump on Seunghyun and hug him, but he was super nervous, hoping for his whole being that the older wouldn’t hate him.

“I’m so sorry,” Jiyong said, voice cracking.

Seunghyun looked up at him for a moment but then scooted over and beckoned Jiyong to come and sit with him. Jiyong sat down immediately, overcome with emotion. Seunghyun put an arm around him and Jiyong hugged him around his torso tightly as big hot tears rolled down his cheeks again, being soaked up by Seunghyun’s shirt.

“You aren’t mad?” Jiyong looked up at him after a minute, cheeks pink and wet.

Seunghyun pressed his lips together tightly.

“A bit disappointed,” he admitted.

“I’m so sorry,” Jiyong sobbed again.

Seunghyun wiped away the tears on Jiyong’s face and smiled.

“It’s alright, Jiyong. What is done is done. Don’t worry about me too much. I’ve been told I’m being released when we get to Valletta,” he said, still gently drying the boys’ cheeks.

“Still,” Jiyong said quietly, “I never wanted you to get into trouble. Never. I feel awful. I haven’t been able to get out of bed since yesterday and…”

He stopped for a moment and looked back into the older’s eyes.

“They said we’re leaving. Apparently the Italian coast guard is picking us up. Probably soon. Seunghyun, I don’t want to leave. Not without you.”

“Why are you leaving?” Seunghyun frowned, “They’re keeping me in here, there’s no way your parents could still think you’re in any sort of danger.”

Jiyong shook his head.

“No.. My mother.. She’s got a very bad case of seasickness because of the storm. You should see it, it’s pretty wild outside. Raining really heavily..” Jiyong explained.

“Ah..” Seunghyun nodded, “Understandable, I suppose..”

Jiyong took his hand in his then and pressed a kiss on his cheek, scooting closer to his side. Jiyong was like a small baby kitten, needing the warmth and cuddles. Seunghyun couldn’t be happier to hold him in his arms like that. After a minute of silence, the door to the small room opened and a man walked in.

“Mr Kwon? You’re expected up on the deck,” the man said.

Jiyong held Seunghyun’s hand even tighter and looked up at him. He didn’t want to leave.

“You too, Mr Choi,” the man said then.

Both of them looked at the officer with big eyes, not believing him for a second.

“The charges were dropped. You’re good to go,” he said and stepped aside from the door.

Jiyong’s mouth opened in shock and he looked at Seunghyun with wide eyes. Seunghyun just gave him an insuring smile and stood up. Hand in hand, they slowly walked out of the room. Seunghyun just had to sign something and after that they were given the okay to leave. Jiyong still kept close to Seunghyun. He knew once they go outside he must leave. Eventually, they got up on the deck and the rain was still pouring heavy but on the other side of the deck there were a lot of crew members standing around something. It was Jiyong’s mother who was being helped down from the cruise ship to the Italian coast guard boat with special equipment. Seunghyun put his arm around Jiyong’s waist and started to walk over but Jiyong pulled him back by his arm.

“Seunghyun, I don’t want to leave you,” he said, looking up at him.

“I know. I don’t want you to leave either. But I don’t think there’s nothing we can do..” he said, stroking his wet hair, trying to comfort him.

Fresh tears threatened to spill over Jiyong’s eyes as he stood on his tippy toes and leaned up to kiss Seunghyun once more, hugging him close. In his mind, this was the goodbye kiss and he couldn’t let go.

“Jiyong!” sounded from behind them and they pulled apart.

Jiyong’s father ran up to them through the rain.

“Dad. I don’t want to go,” Jiyong pleaded.

Mr Kwon turned to Seunghyun though and offered his hand. Seunghyun took it and shook it firmly, although a bit confused.

“I’m deeply sorry about the inconvenience, Mr Choi,” Jiyong’s father said. “I hope you can forgive me and my wife. Unfortunately, she has turned sick and we must escort her to a hospital in Italy. Our.. son is in good hands, right?”

Seunghyun gulped nervously but gave Mr Kwon a firm nod.

“Dad?” Jiyong asked, eyes widened.

Jiyong’s dad turned to him then and held him by his arms.

“I’ll see you in London, alright? I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip. The travel documents are on my desk back in the suite with everything else you might need.”

Jiyong was quite baffled. His mouth was open and he wanted to say something but nothing came out. In the end, he opted for a hug and leaped into his dad’s chest.

“Dad! Thank you so much, dad!”

He was truly happy and Mr Kwon smiled at that. He kissed his son’s forehead and pulled away.

“Be good, okay, kid? I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

Jiyong nodded happily and his dad gave Seunghyun another nod before running back to his wife who was now lowered down to the boat. The pair looked at the situation up from over the railing and after the boat took off, they went back inside, now completely soaked, but once their eyes locked, they couldn’t help but smile widely. Jiyong buried himself into Seunghyun’s chest and gave him a tight happy hug. Seunghyun hugged him back tightly and kissed his head as he pulled away and took his hand.

“Come on, let’s go and enjoy the rest of the trip,” he said and led Jiyong down to their room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yawn such a long and boring chapter and bc it's so boring i'll end the story here. i have no inspiration anymore and it's hard to squeeze the story out haha. if u have any ideas tho or sth let me know and i might write an epilogue. for now tho, thanks for reading!! :)

**Author's Note:**

> also posted on aff


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